Sign-twirler ‘Dancing Dan’ returns to the streets after brutal beating

Daniel “Dancing Dan” Sloan returned to the streets of Arden Arcade this week, entertaining passing drivers for hours.

Last month, Sloan was badly beaten by an unknown assailant at the corner of Arden Way and Morse Avenue where he lived and twirled signs for nearby businesses.

His injuries were severe enough to require hospitalization.

Considered a “fixture of the community,” members of the neighborhood set up a You Caring fundraising page for Sloan that raised more than $10,600. Now that he’s out of the hospital, the money is paying for Sloan’s rent at Blessings Care LLC, a nearby boarding home.

“I have some good people I’m living with, they’re lovely people,” Sloan said.

Starting this week, Sloan is sporting his moves in a shady spot in front of the Burger King on Marconi Avenue.

Kianna Cox, manager of the Burger King, said Sloan began dancing in front of the restaurant three days ago and people enjoy having him there. “It’s been good, everybody loves him,” she said. “People honk as they drive by. He comes in to get water and customers even take water out to him. He’s a great man, I’m glad he’s back and healthy.”

Despite the heat, Sloan dons a Spider-Man costume and shimmies and shakes his head to music, garnering honks and waves from drivers. He kept a red lunch box nearby, filled with roast beef and cheese sandwiches and blue Powerade, to fuel him throughout the day.

Ericka Chacon regularly stops with her two sons, Ezekiel and Junius Castillo, to give Sloan snacks and water on their way to school. “They had a dollar each left over from the movies and they wanted to give him their last dollar to get something from Burger King,” she said.

Sloan isn’t back to twirling signs just yet while he focuses on recovering, he said.

“I’m not really pushing it that far, that fast. People come help me, they see who I am, and eventually they come help me.”

This story was originally published July 13, 2017 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Sign-twirler ‘Dancing Dan’ returns to the streets after brutal beating."